New Birth

Because we have believed in Christ, we are called to adopt an eternal perspective - we have been called to put aside the temporary in this world and embrace the eternal; we can be raised to new life in Him. 2nd Corinthians 4 states:
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Perhaps this season has been one in which you have been forced to reevaluate your priorities.  Maybe you have experienced the loss of a loved one or considered your own human frailty.  The Lord, by His Word and Spirit, draws us to consider the eternal, to realize that we do not belong to this world and it is not where we will spend eternity.  Jesus has prepared a place, as He said in John 14, where He will receive those who belong to Him.  He calls us to take our eyes off the temporary and place them on the eternity He has promised to us.

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God has called us to walk in the new life He has provided for us in Jesus - recognizing the old self is 
dead and acknowledging that we are new in Christ. Romans 6 tells us:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection...

Hillvue Heights Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky has acquired quite a reputation - it has placed a priority on baptisms.  And, this year, it had a goal of 700 people to experience this act, an expression of new birth in Jesus.

And, according to Kentucky Today, it was on its way to that goal - until COVID hit.  The church sets its baptism goal according to fiscal year, which begins in September. The article says: "In the fiscal year of 2019, Hillvue baptized 641, so they set a goal of 700 for 2020. At the end of February, they were more than halfway to the goal with six months remaining." It relates that Co-Lead Pastor Jamie Ward "said he thought they were around 350 at the end of February."  During the 12-month period that just ended last week, there were 506 baptisms that had been performed.

That is with COVID as a huge factor.  What is remarkable - and Biblical - is that even without in-person services, church members were sharing about Jesus.  The story says, "Instead of crouching in the corner, they seized the moment. They shared the gospel with friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers. They even spoke to some believers who, for whatever reason, hadn’t yet entered the baptismal waters."

So, when the church went back to in-person services in May, there was "a list" of people to be baptized. Ward says, “Once we started coming back, people just brought people that they had shared the gospel with at COVID time,” adding, “They were waiting for the opportunity to be baptized. Honestly, it was kind of hard to keep up. People were coming at different days and different evenings for baptism.”

Good problem to have, right?  It's the result of faithful obedience to speak and live the Word.  The article states:

Hillvue does a lot of teaching on baptism and every Sunday shares the gospel message. Their members are equipped for action.

“What has been amazing, during my time at Hillvue, so many of these baptisms are not a result of a sermon,” said Ward, who has been at the church for 16 years. “It’s people sharing their faith with their family, co-workers and neighbors. Another thing we do at Hillvue, if you lead a buddy to Christ, we want you to baptize them.”

Ward said there are more baptisms performed by other people than the church staff. “It’s such a great visual for our church,” he said.

Ward likened the COVID season to the period just after 9-11. He says, “Any end-of-the-world scenario gets people’s attention...People start thinking, ‘I don’t think I’m right with the Lord’ or ‘My worldview has no solution in it.' Ward added, “Nobody knows how closed off you've been with Christianity or anything in a spiritual realm until something like this cracks the window open. That's what we experienced here. For a lot of people, that window got cracked open.” 

We remember that the world and its circumstances can cause us to think about the temporary nature of life.  The Word can help us to consider the eternal.  

In a season in which people may be dealing with life-and-death matters and perhaps even considering their own mortality, the truth of God's Word can instruct people on how to find peace about eternity.  We each can respond to the temporary by embracing what is permanent.

We show that we have obeyed Christ in salvation by obeying Him in baptism.  Baptism demonstrates that we have been raised to new life in Jesus Christ.  It communicates to the world what God has done in our hearts.  We can certainly be motivated to rejoice in our new life.